First the good news

Anyone who wrestled with Internet connections with Windows 3.1 will appreciate the improvements straight away. Instead of having to install a separate Winsock program, Win 95 has got this built in, allowing Windows and Windows-based programs to speak the same language as the Internet -- a language called TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol). Also, Win 95 includes plus robust communications sub-system which supports the high-speed 16550 UART chip found in most modern PCs which control your PC's COM port (or communication connection).

Our seven-step guide

All you’ve got to do is follow the seven steps below. Note that some settings may vary depending on your ISP, so it’s best to have them fax you a complete set of instructions.

Step 1

If you’ve previously installed any Internet software, you’ll need to locate and disable its winsock.dll, which may conflict with the one bundled into Windows 95. Use the Windows 95 Find feature (located on the Start Menu) to search your entire hard drive for any file named winsock.dll. The one you want to keep is in the \WINDOWS or \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory (don’t panic if it’s in both), dated 11/07/95 and 42Kb in size. Any others should be renamed -- right-click the file in the Find window, choose Rename from the pop-up menu and choose a name such as winsock.old.

Step 2

A typical Windows 95 installations doesn’t include the Dial-Up Networking applet used to establish a connection with your Internet access provider. If there’s a Dial-Up Networking folder inside your desktop’s My Computer icon, go to step 3. If not, open the Control Panel and choose the Add/Remove Programs utility. Click the Windows Setup tab, in the Components list choose Communications and click the Details button. Check the Dial-Up Networking box and click OK. Then click OK again and feed the Windows 95 disks as required.

You’ll then be asked to provide computer and workgroup names to identify your PC on a network -- there’s nothing special about these, you can enter anything you choose.

Step 3

Dial-Up Networking also installs a selection of basic network components which can be viewed and configured by clicking the Configuration tab in the Network dialogue box (the same dialogue in which you enter your PC’s identification details).

This is where you’ll configure your Windows 95 system for all network access including the Internet -- to reach this dialogue at a later stage open the Control Panel and select the Network icon.

Start by getting rid of the excess baggage: if your PC is not part of a network (and you won’t be dialling into an office LAN) select Client for Microsoft Networks and click Remove. Repeat this with Client for NetWare Networks, IPX/SPX-compatible Protocol and NetBEUI. At this stage all that should be remaining is the Dial-Up Adaptor.

Now click the Add button and in the Select Network Component Type dialogue choose Protocol, then click Add again. In the Manufacturers list box select Microsoft and in the Network Protocols list box select TCP/IP, then click OK.

Step 4

Back in the Network dialogue box select Dial-Up Adaptor, click Properties and under the Bindings tab ensure that TCP/IP is selected. Then return to the Network dialogue, select TCP/IP and click the Properties button. Some of the information you’ll enter into the TCP/IP configuration will be generic to any Internet setup, others will vary from one access provider to another.

• IP Address: Click the button to 'Obtain an IP address automatically' unless you will be using the one IP address each time -- in which case, enter your access provider’s IP address and subnet mask.
• DNS Configuration: Unless otherwise instructed by your access provider, click the Enable DNS button and enter your host name (usually your user name) and the provider’s domain name (without the @ symbol which comes between your user name and the host name). Enter the DNS IP address in the box under DNS Server Search Order and click the Add button. If instructed by your access provider, add their domain name under Domain Suffix Search Order.
• Gateway: If you use a fixed (not dynamic) IP address you should enter this on the Gateway tab sheet.
• WINS Configuration: Ensure that the button labelled Disable WINS Resolution is checked.

If you have followed all the above steps, and unless otherwise instructed by your access provider, you can ignore the Advanced and Bindings tabs.

Select OK and in the Network dialogue box hit OK again. You’ll need to feed the Windows 95 installation disks again and restart the PC when this is completed.

Step 5

Open My Computer and double-click the Dial-Up Networking folder. Because this is your first DUN entry, you’ll be greeted with a wizard -- the next time you open this folder you’ll see the usual iconic folder view. You can invoke the wizard to create additional connections (to alternative access providers, for example) by double-clicking the Make New Connection icon.

Follow the wizard’s prompts to enter the name and dial-up phone number of your access provider. This will create an icon for your access provider in the Dial-Up Networking folder.

Step 6

Right-click the icon and choose Properties from the pop-up menu. Uncheck the button labelled 'Use country code and area code' if you are in the same STD area as your Internet access provider. Click the Configure button and under the Options tab select 'Bring up terminal window after dialling'. This will display a terminal screen with which you can log into the access provider’s computer and begin each Internet session. Click OK and then select Server Type.

Select the Type of Dial-Up Server as being 'PPP: Windows 95, Windows NT, Internet' and ensure that the only box checked is that marked TCP/IP under the 'Allowed Network protocols' heading.

Click the TCP/IP Settings button and enter the IP and DNS addresses as supplied by your access provider. The buttons 'Use IP header compression' and 'Use default gateway on remote network' are checked by default, however, IP header compression has been known to cause some connection difficulties -- if you have trouble connecting, you may want to uncheck this box.

Click each OK button until you’re back in the Dial-Up Networking folder.

Step 7

Right-drag the icon onto the desktop and select Create Shortcut Here to make a desktop shortcut for Internet access (then right-click the icon, choose Rename and get rid of that annoying 'Shortcut to' text). Double-click this to dial your access provider and when the terminal screen appears follow the log in prompts, then press F7 to run your Net applications.

Logging on

You can streamline the logon process by creating a script with the Dial-Up Scripting utility included on the Windows 95 CD-ROM (in the \ADMIN\APPTOOLS\DSCRIPT folder). It can also be downloaded from Microsoft’s Internet site at http://www.microsoft.com.

Now your Web browser, and whatever other Net software you've installed, can actually get onto the Net. Or, if you haven't already installed them, install them now.

By David Flynn

Where to now

• Connecting to the Net. More tips on getting connected.
• Your first steps on the Net. Finally connected now? Try our tutorials for Net newcomers.
• Using the Internet. Our tutorials for more advanced users.
• Your own Internet presence. Ready for Web authoring? Try our guides.